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It’s that time of the year where people make predictions for the coming year and I’m not going to be any different, here we go:-

Smartphones – Yet another Apple iPhone, the iPhone 7 will be released.

iWatch – Will be launched and people will go wild over it.

Cloud – Will be come the “standard” platform for Business Application purchases. Spending on Cloud will increase, more companies will have “Cloud First” policies. Innovation in Public Cloud will continue.

PaaS – Platform as a Service (PaaS) will become to be seen as the way to deliver application extensions or bespoke developments.

Wearables – We will start to see “Wearables” clothes in High Street shops, as they make the leap from Geek to mainstream. Google Glass was never going to make the mainstream. In my experience, Google was never really behind the project, plus they made you look a little silly. Maybe with the skill of Intel behind the next version, it will give it that much needed push. That said, I’m more tempted with an iWatch or Wearable in terms of Clothes. I attended the Google Glass UK launch and wasn’t very impressed and the fact there was zero follow up made me think are these guys really into taking this mainstream.

Internet of Things – The public will see Internet of Things (IoT) functionality in everyday household items – Starting a revolution in replacement of everyday household items. It is expected that in the level of maturity we will see a move from “dumb” to “smart” household items. Many manufactures will jump on the band wagon and push for massive appliance replacement, what they will call “new and improved” will actually be just a chip being stuck in today’s products.

Crowdfunding – Will become mainstream and there will be more bizarre items, services seeking funding as people push the boundaries of any new way of working. Next year there will be more calls to regulate Crowdfunding.

Amazonation – Of Retail will continue both inside of Amazon and across retail. Apple and Amazon will continue their “arms race” to get access to the consumer transactions.

3D Printing – Will become more mainstream (rather than experimental) with more everyday items being printed. Don’t expect to own a 3D Printer until 2017.

Marketing ROI – Marketers will be under more pressure to prove ROI and will become under increased pressure to get closer and work with Sales.

Big Data – The privacy debate will continue. People will realise that maybe people don’t actually tell the truth when they fill in questionnaires, which will place a question mark over Big Data results. One area of Big Data that will expand is the use of Big Data for Healthcare.

Technology Shift – There will be a continued shift from PC to Tablet, from Smartphone to Phablets and from On Premises to Public Cloud.

Hashtags – Hashtag Tedium will take over as a hashtags become another “tick box” “must have” for a brand to look cool.

Mobile – Delivery of services to mobile (in many cases via an App) will become a business imperative. The move to mobile and “Mobile First” started in 2014. Customer Experience has to be delivered via mobile in 2015.

Security – Hacking of sites will continue. There is a “Keyboard War” of Hackers Vs the Rest of the World. Users must be ever vigilant, not click on URLs, install a virus checker, etc. IT Departments must “assume you have been hacked” and work back from there.

Selfies – The selfie trend will continue having crossed over into polite society in 2014. 2015 will be a year of Selfie Tedium as big brands see a “Selfie on Instagram campaign” as a “must have”. Yawn.

Instagram – Will continue the almost unnoticed march to become the Social platform of choice for teenagers and the mainstream.

Tim Hughes is a blogger and speaker and can be contacted at @timothy_hughes on Twitter.

Read this article recently about the editor of one of my favorite websites Buzzfeed. It got me thinking. With the pressures us Sales People are under to create content as part of our Social Selling journey. How much easier would it be if I just copied somebody else’s? Have we reached the point where just copy each others work – The point where, content will eat itself?

I Love Blogging

Started this blog 6 months ago and I love it. Hard work coming up with new and original ideas. But that’s what I love, the freedom and ability to sit here and type on my laptop creating something from nothing.

In the middle of putting the finishing touches to a recent blog, my phone goes. It’s a Social Selling colleague. “Take a look at these two LinkedIn profiles” he says.

One is pretty much a word for word copy of a Deloitte White Paper. There is no acknowledgment at the end of the article.

I’ve discussed this with other Social Media people and we all agree this is plagiarism.

There is nothing new under the Sun

“There’s nothing new under the sun – you just get a can of paint out.”

Robert Plant

While I love the creative process, in 2014 is anybody really creating something new? New but not unique.

We have all taken somebodies idea and expanded on it. I looked at Gerry Moran’s LinkedIn profile the other day and thought, that’s a good idea, need to craft something like that. Like being the operative word, I would never directly lift it, and copy it word for word. But Gerry did spark some creativity in me. to draw an analogy, listen to Robert Plant’s songwriting (Solo and in Led Zeppelin) he has heavily “borrowed” from The Blues. Nobody calls Led Zeppelin plagiarists.

Plagiarism

How do we define plagiarism? My view, this is where you intently take someones creativity. The time they have put in, the sweat the energy – and passed it off as your own. Not necessarily for money but at least personal gain.

Somebody passed off my photos on Twitter as their own. OK no real matter. But I’m the one that researched were to take the shots, took the train to Shoreditch and stood in the rain to take the photos. That makes me feel those shots belong to me. Why did somebody feel they could just take them and repost them on Twitter as if they were their own.

How do we prove intent?

The Essence of Social Selling

Social selling is about creating a profile so that people seek you out as a thought leader in your field. While I agree that not everybody can be a Thought Leader, surely we can all come up with something about how your customers gain value from your products and services? If not go and ask them. (Obviously ask them permission if you can use the material, or use it with the names taken out). Why copy somebody else?

Also, surely you can up with something original about yourself? What are you passionate about? Beliefs? What it is you want people to see you as – honest, trustworthy, etc.

Why don’t you read some periodicals, see what your thought leaders and influencers are doing, but if you post such articles, make sure you quote your sources. If you’re not interested in what you sell and not passionate about your customers, maybe you are in the wrong job?